Nightline's Brian Ross on Monday filed a hyperbolic report on "secret Jesus
codes" that are on the sights of rifles used by the U.S. military in
Afghanistan. Ross featured two voices highly critical of the fact that Bible
versus can be found on these weapons, but no clip of the opposing side. Ross
repeated, "Michael Weinstein runs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation
which claims thousands of members in the US military who he says are endangered
by the secret Bible codes."

On the MRFF
website, the organization trumpets, "MRFF breaks major news story." Ross
featured Weinstein in four separate clips, but never once mentioned whether he
was fed the information, nor does he note the harshly anti-religious tone of the group. The website
currently touts this fund-raising pitch: "The wall separating church and state
in the U.S. military has collapsed. MRFF desperately needs you to Help Build The
Wall!"

Ross also highlighted retired Major General William Nash. Summarizing the
opinion of Trijicon, the gun company that produces the rifle, Ross explained,
"The Trijicon spokesman said there was nothing wrong or illegal about adding the
Biblical references to the military sights." Then, instead of allowing viewers
to actually hear from the company, he included this clip from Nash: "But I find
something wrong with it and I think our government should find something wrong
with it."

Ross described the "secret" code: "...The sights on their
gun, including this one used to train soldiers in Iraq, contain a secret coded
reference to New Testament passages about Jesus Christ. Here, JN 8:12, a
reference to the Book of John, 8:12, which reads in part, 'Then spake Jesus
again unto them, saying I am the light of the world.'"

The reporter proceeded to expand the topic into other examples of a "clash in
the U.S. military over Christian symbols and preaching in Iraq and Afghanistan."
He added, "Two years ago in Afghanistan, American documentary filmmaker Brian
Hughes saw boxes of New Testament Bibles published in Afghan languages."

ABC managed to allow comment from Trijicon in its online
story. Wouldn't it only be fair for Brian Ross to have done that on
Nightline?

A transcript of the January 18 segment, which aired at 11:45pm EST, follows:

MARTIN BASHIR: It was during his first overseas tour as president to the
Muslim country of Turkey that Barack Obama said the United States is not and
will never be at war with Islam, which is why our next story is provoking so
much controversy. It concerns inscriptions that refer to biblical texts on
weapons being deployed by American forces. Here's our Chief Investigative
Correspondent Brian Ross. Brian?

BRIAN ROSS: Martin, to prevent the suspicion, the United States is conducting
a Christian crusade against Muslims, members of the US military in Iraq and
Afghanistan are strictly prohibited from proselytizing, promoting any religion,
faith or practice. It's called General Order One. But apparently one of the
Pentagon's big suppliers never got the memo. Some soldiers call them Jesus
rifle. That's because the sights on their gun, including this one used to train
soldiers in Iraq, contain a secret coded reference to New Testament passages
about Jesus Christ. Here, JN 8:12, a reference to the Book of John, 8:12, which
reads in part, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying I am the light of the
world."

ROSS: Michael Weinstein runs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation
which claims thousands of members in the U.S. military who he says are
endangered by the secret Bible codes.

WEINSTEIN: It is a big deal. We've had many, many soldiers reach out to us.
Some are oblivious but many, many others, in the thousands, aware well aware
that it's there. They described it as a sick and a very scary joke and that it
allows the Mujahadin, the Taliban, al Qaeda, the insurrectionists and Jihadists
to be claiming that they're being shot by Jesus rifles.

ROSS: Others sights have references to the New Testament Books of Matthew,
Revelation and the Corinthians such as this scope used by Special Forces encoded
with another reference to a verse about the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. The rifle sights are produced by the Trijicon Company of Wixom, Michigan
which has at most $1 billion in Pentagon contracts. A company spokesman says its
founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian, began the practice years ago and it
has continued since Bindon's death in 2003. The Trijicon spokesman said there
was nothing wrong or illegal about adding the Biblical references to the
military sights.

MG WILLIAM NASH (RET): Well, that's fine. But I find something wrong with
it and I think our government should find something wrong with it.

ROSS: Retired Major General William Nash commanded the 1st Brigade of the 3rd
Armor Division during Desert Storm in Iraq. He is now an ABC News
consultant.

NASH: There's a lot of organizations that provide Bibles to soldiers and
Torah and other, and even copies of the Koran are given out to our soldiers. I
have no problem with that. But I do have problems with military equipment being
labeled in such a way that it seems like it's our God against their God.

ROSS: General Nash says the Pentagon should make the company remove the
biblical codes.

NASH: They should fix them all. They do a modification on the sights and take
off those inscriptions. And, and if they fail to do that, they should be
penalized monetarily.

ROSS: At the Pentagon, the Army and the Marines told ABC News they were
unaware of the biblical codes until we contacted them.

GUN REVIEWER (YOUTUBE VIDEO): One of the really cool things that I like about
this sight.

ROSS: But on gun enthusiast and military websites, the presence of the New
Testament references seem well known, as this gun reviewer pointed out the
passage from the Book of Job.

GUN REVIEWER: I love it. I love it. Yes, Trijicon, those guys are Christians
and, you know, they, they're just - on all of their different sights, they have
verses on there. So just a little neat side note. And for those of you who
aren't Christians, well you know, whatever, get over it. All right, so anyway.

WEINSTEIN: We received information just very recently from one of our clients
indicating that the rifle was referred to as the spiritually transformed firearm
of Jesus Christ.

ROSS: Even with the general order against religious proselytizing, the
Biblical references on the rifle sights is only the latest example of a clash in
the US military over Christian symbols and preaching in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Two years ago in Afghanistan, American documentary filmmaker Brian Hughes saw
boxes of New Testament Bibles published in Afghan languages.

BRIAN HUGHES (DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER): It was clear that those Bibles were
there for the purpose of being distributed to the Afghan people, not to other
soldiers, not to other people on the base but to Afghan civilians. So it was
clear that they were prepared to operate outside the boundaries of General Order
One.

ROSS: Filmmaker Hughes recorded US Army Chaplain Gary Hensley in a
provocative sermon at Baghram Air Base.

LTC GARY HENSLEY (US ARMY CHAPLAIN): You know, the Special Forces guys, they
hunt men basically. We do the same as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. Hunt
them down. Gets the hound of heaven after them. So we get them in the kingdom.
Right? That's what we do. That's our business.

ROSS: Now the tiny Biblical codes on the U.S. military rifle sights used by
the Army and the Marines as tiny as they are, seem certain to raise the issues
again.

WEINSTEIN: We're training the Iraqis and the Afghans, the members of the
military on these very same weapons. They're training on weapons with biblical
references from the New Testament on there. It's unbelievable. This is how we're
going to win friends.

ROSS: It's not known precisely how many of the rifle sights with the secret
Bible codes are now in use by the military. But the Trijicon Company just
received a $660 million contract to be the sole supplier to the US Marine Corps
and its sights are the preferred choice of the US Special Forces. As of tonight,
the military was still trying to figure out what if anything it plans to do
about that. Martin?

Federal employees and military personnel can donate to the Media Research Center through the Combined Federal Campaign or CFC. To donate to the MRC, use CFC #12489. Visit the CFC website for more information about giving opportunities in your workplace.